World and national briefs

By JTA

Chabad conference hosts nearly 3,000

NEW YORK (JTA)—Chabad rabbis pray at the gravesite of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, Nov. 9 in the Queens borough of New York. Nearly 3,000 rabbis from 72 nations were in New York for the annual International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries.

The emissaires took part in workshops and seminars, where they shared their collective knowledge and experience and offered mutual encouragement to their colleagues who often work in isolated communities with little or no Jewish infrastructure.

Y.U. prof wins $50,000

NEW YORK (JTA)—A Yeshiva University professor was the first-place winner in the 2007 Templeton Enterprise Awards. James Otteson, a professor of economics and philosophy, won the $50,000 prize for his book “Actual Ethics.” The awards, presented by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, are given annually to scholars younger than 40 who have published in the field of humane economics and culture.

Rebbe’s specs on e-Bay

NEW YORK (JTA)—A woman is trying to sell the late Bobover rebbe’s eyeglasses for $350,000. A Nov. 5 posting on the online auction Web site eBay lists the glasses, “worn daily for over two decades by the Grand Rabbi Solomon Halberstam,” for the hefty sum. Shipping is listed at $125. “Right now there are many people who are interested, but no one has bid yet,” said Daniel Givotovsky, who said he posted the glasses on behalf of a seller whose husband was the rebbe’s optometrist.

Dean rips GOP at G.A.

NEW YORK (JTA)—Democratic leader Howard Dean blasted the GOP’s lack of diversity in a speech to Jewish communal leaders. Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, also appeared to criticize the practice of including an invocation of Jesus at the end of pre-game prayers at scholastic sporting events. Dean made the remark Nov. 11 during a decidedly partisan speech at the opening plenary of the United Jewish Communities’ General Assembly in Nashville. He painted the Republican Party as religiously and racially exclusive.

Forward names top 50

NEW YORK (JTA)—Newly confirmed Attorney General Michael Mukasey tops the annual Forward 50 list of most influential Jews. Joining Mukasey in the top five are Rabbi Elyse Frishman, editor of the Reform movement’s new prayer book; Seth Rogen and Judd Apatow, the creative force behind recent box office hits “Superbad” and “Knocked up”; Sheldon Adelson, the richest Jew in the country with a newly established Jewish philanthropy; and Peter Deutsch, the former congressman leading the effort to create Hebrew language charter schools.

Recalling Kristallnacht

BERLIN (JTA)—Germany must renew attempts to ban the far-right National Democratic Party, Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit said. Speaking at ceremonies marking the 69th anniversary of Kristallnacht Nov. 8, Wowereit said remembrance alone was not enough, but that action must be taken to prevent far-right groups from gaining ground among younger Germans. Recent studies have shown that many youths hold stereotypes about Jews and are ignorant of Jewish culture and traditions. Other polls have shown that an alarming number of Germans tend to see positive aspects of the Nazi regime.The event was held at the Jewish community center in former West Berlin. The center was built after the war on the site of the Fasanenstrasse Synagogue, which was destroyed on Nov. 9, 1938, the day that Nazi hooligans destroyed hundreds of synagogues in Germany and Austria.

Federations vote to press Iran issue

JERUSALEM (JTA)—U.S. Jewish federations passed a motion calling for a more concerted lobbying effort on Iran. The United Jewish Communities’ board of trustees passed the motion Nov. 12 at the General Assembly in Nashville, Tenn. The measure calls on the UJC and Jewish federations to act in concert with the Jewish Council for Public Affairs and Jewish community relations councils around the United States to initiate, coordinate and fund expanded efforts to educate and mobilize the Jewish community and global community about the threats posed by a nuclear Iran.

Talks ‘waste of time’

JERUSALEM (JTA)—The publisher of the country’s largest Jewish weekly called the upcoming Mideast peace conference a waste of time. In his weekly column, Gary Rosenblatt, editor and publisher of the New York Jewish Week, writes that in planning the upcoming Annapolis peace conference U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice appears to be repeating the mistakes of her predecessors. “The notion of the U.S. sponsoring peace talks to hammer out a settlement between the Palestinians and Israelis by smoothing over their deep differences with carefully chosen phrases rather than smartly crafted solutions, and pushing off the toughest decisions for the end of the talks, should have ended with the failure of Oslo,” Rosenblatt writes. Rosenblatt further challenged the view that peace depends on Washington flexing its muscle rather than the readiness and willingness of Israelis and Palestinians.

Thousands rally against neo-Nazis in Prague

PRAGUE (JTA)—Thousands rallied against neo-Nazism in Prague as Czech police prevented a right-wing extremist march. A high court had banned the Nov. 10 march through the city’s Jewish Quarter by neo-Nazis on the anniversary of Kristallnacht. Instead, thousands of Jews and their supporters turned up for a Sabbath prayer by Chief Rabbi Karol Sidon and speeches against extremism by Archbishop Miroslav Vlk and Deputy Prime Minister Cyril Svoboda in front of the 13th century Old-New Syna